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Whatever Happened to Gunner Scott?

He was one of the WWE’s top developmental prospects in the early 2000’s. He was then called up into a major angle with Chris Benoit on the main roster. Then he was gone. Today we ask ‘Whatever Happened to‘ Gunner Scott?

Brent Albright was trained to become a pro wrestler by Roland Alexander, Mike Modest and the All Pro Wrestling school in California. Albright wrestled for several independent promotions before getting a shot with TNA wrestling in 2003. He lost his TNA match to Shark Boy but that got him attention from the WWE.

The WWE signed Albright to a developmental contract in 2004 and was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in Kentucky. A year into his training, Paul Heyman took over the booking of OVW and that is when Albright began to shine. Heyman transformed Albright into ‘The Shooter’ Brent Albright. His character was very similar to that of Chris Benoit. A no nonsense wrestler with a high technical IQ in grappling.

Paul Heyman started booking Albright into a long program with an independent wrestler named CM Punk. The two would have several classic matches in OVW, making it the hottest WWE developmental territory. ‘The Shooter’ would also make OVW history by becoming the first ever OVW Triple Crown Champion, winning the OVW heavyweight, OVW Television and OVW tag team titles. The feud with CM Punk was so successful, Albright now had the attention of the WWE.

In 2006, Albright was called up to main roster, to the Smackdown brand. His name was changed to ‘Gunner Scott’ and since his wrestling style was so reminiscent of Chris Benoit’s style, he was placed in a storyline with ‘the rabid wolverine.’ Gunner Scott became the protege of Benoit’s. After matches, Benoit would be seen backstage with Gunner in vignettes giving him tips, pointers and encouragement.

The rumors were that the storyline with Benoit would go on for several months with the culmination being the student (Gunner Scott) would turn heel on the teacher (Chris Benoit) and the two would have a feud. That sadly did not occur as WWE management started having a change of heart on the character. According to reports, WWE road agents Fit Finlay and Dean Malenko were not big fans of Gunner Scott. They felt he was too much a carbon copy of Benoit in the ring.

Gunner Scott’s last match on the main roster was against Mr. Kennedy and ended with the Great Khali attacking Scott and putting him in a body bag. The blow off allowed Albright to be sent back down to OVW. It was there where management told him to start developing a different style of wrestling. Apparently, his changes were good enough and he was released from the WWE in the Fall of 2006.

Brent Albright would continue his career on the independent circuit. He competed in places like Ring of Honor and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) where he won the NWA world title in 2008. Albright continued working for smaller promotions around the Oklahoma area until disappearing from the wrestling scene altogether.

So we ask, Whatever happened to Brent “Gunner Scott” Albright? Brent Albright is now retired from professional wrestling. He is married with two children and currently works at the Tulsa International Airport where he fuels large jet airplanes before and after flights. Brent also lives in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area.

2 thoughts on “Whatever Happened to Gunner Scott?”

So THAT’S What happened to him. Damn shame too, ’cause he could’ve been something, although in hindsight after what happened with Benoit, he might’ve caught a lot of backlash and would’ve eventually been released anyways.